Thoughts from the interface of science, religion, law and culture

After spending several years touring the country as a stand up comedian, Ed Brayton tired of explaining his jokes to small groups of dazed illiterates and turned to writing as the most common outlet for the voices in his head. He has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show and the Thom Hartmann Show, and is almost certain that he is the only person ever to make fun of Chuck Norris on C-SPAN.

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Homeopath Demands Arrest, Deportation of Morgan

There’s already more than enough rank stupidity being thrown around about deporting Piers Morgan for making pro-gun control statements on his show, but now Natural News, a bugnutty homeopathy site run by the deranged Mike Adams, is demanding that he be arrested for sedition!

When Pratt responded that taking guns away from law-abiding people – who comprise the vast majority of America’s 85-million gun owners – would only make them more vulnerable, not to mention deny them their Second Amendment right to self-defense, Morgan couldn’t contain himself:

“You’re an unbelievably stupid man, aren’t you?”

Morgan’s characterization of Pratt, let alone his irrational anti-gun mentality, makes him a criminal in America – one that should land him on the first flight out of the country.

Americans are, of course, protected under the First Amendment to make their points of view well-known, even if (or especially if) they use their constitutionally protected voice to speak out against other rights enshrined in the Constitution. But Morgan is not afforded those rights and protections. Using his broadcast as a position of influence he serves more as a criminal foreign agent when he stumps for positions that seek to deny Americans their constitutional rights.

You’re a fucking moron who knows nothing about the First Amendment. And if we’re going to arrest people for making political arguments, you go first. I hate you enough for pushing woo on people. I hate you doubly for being an authoritarian asshole. And I hate you most of all for making me defend Piers Morgan, who is one of the most annoying and vapid people on the planet.

Comments

Americans are, of course, protected under the First Amendment to make their points of view well-known, even if (or especially if) they use their constitutionally protected voice to speak out against other rights enshrined in the Constitution. But Morgan is not afforded those rights and protections.

The framers were very careful and precise when they drafted laws when it came to differentiating people from citizens. Where people were in most cases considered a collection of individuals. Because the framers accepted the premise that an individual human’s rights are inalienable, they both limited government power and in many cases obligated the government to defend certain rights for all people (individuals) under its jurisdiction, not just citizens (with some exceptions of course – e.g., incarcerated felons).

In the 1st Amendment no mention is made limiting the protection of our speech rights only to citizens, instead we see one reference to the people’s right to assemble.

Further, it is inconceivable to imagine that an American on British television would get away with subverting English law and tradition, perhaps by calling for the Queen to lose her thrown and be tossed out of the country

A quick use of Google confirmed my feeling that this is really quite ludicrous. He’s technically correct that calling for the abolition of the monarchy actually does breach the Treason Felony Act 1848, but simply Googling ‘abolish the monarchy’ brings up hit after hit after hit of British people, in Britain, saying that the monarchy needs to be abolished with no sign of them actually being prosecuted (in fact, the last person to actually be prosecuted for this was in 1883). In addition, a case in 2003 brought the ruling that peaceful advocacy of anti-monarch sentiment is not grounds for prosecution under this act. I can also easily find instances of Americans also arguing that the British monarchy should be abolished, so, whilst I cannot specifically point at an instance of the exact thing he’s talking about, an American calling for the abolition of the British monarchy on British TV without any repercussions (though I haven’t looked very hard), it is FAR from ‘inconceivable’ that this would happen, or has happened.

Actually, NaturalNews.com is not a homeopathy site per se. It’s an all purpose quackery site that’s evolved into an all purpose crank site, in which homeopathy is actually not discussed all that much relative to other topics (although, in fairness, Adams did give Dana Ullman a brief blogging gig there and still occasionally features his articles).

Mike Adams is about as perfect example of crank magnetism as there is; Antivaccine, pro-quackery, New World Order conspiracy theorist with a dash of “9/11 Truth,” and antiscience to the core. (He even did a video proclaiming science evil and blaming it for the Holocaust.) Of late, he’s been very much into fringe antigovernment conspiracies, such as believing that the UN is, through President Obama, coming to take away everyone’s guns and nonsense that would do Scientologists proud in the form of antipsychiatry claims that blame the Sandy Hook massacre on psychotropic drugs.

Does Mr. Morgan think the queen should be thrown off her throne or throne off her thrown? He seems confused. As a homeopath, presumably he wants Charlie to take over as soon as possible.
What is the homeopathic cure for gushot wounds? Soaking the bullet holes with heavily diluted water which once held lead?

Alternative medicine, which loves to promote itself as cutting edge and open-minded, instantly reveals itself as elitist through its rejection of an”elitist” science corrupted by doubt. When you reject the objective methods which address the skeptics and instead rely on subjective anecdotes which appeal to the willing-to-believe, you’ve divided the issue by focusing on personality rather than fact. Us and Them, iow.

And now here come the conspiracy theories and the persecution mindset that breeds them…

I hate you most of all for making me defend Piers Morgan, who is one of the most annoying and vapid people on the planet.

A big atheist amen to that. I had such mixed feelings seeing Morgan take this on; delighted that someone in the media was doing it, and horrified that his big show on the subject featured, among others, John Lott on one side and even bigger fraud Deepak Chopra on the other…

They should scrape a teensy bit of paper fiber from Morgan’s passport and dissolve it in the Atlantic Ocean.

Good God man!

By the entirely proven tenants of homeopathy, introducing even a tiny molecule of an object associated with Piers Morgan into the sea will imbue the vast depths of the world’s oceans with the “water memory” of Piers Morgan.

This will inevitably lead to all of humanity being “Morganized” by the converse of the principles of similia similibus curentur (like cures like) known as douchia douchimbus aflictus( douch causes douch).

You should apply a hot mustard compress to your medulla oblongata until this urge subsides.